New Print and eBook on Amazon:   Anemone Success Doing what it takes to keep Anemones healthy long-term by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Re: Fiji Biotope - 01/11/07 Hello again. <<Greetings>> Just a quick question. <<Sure>> Are the Haliptilon species of kelp found where BTAs are? <<Hmm yes, a Rhodophyte I believe...would likely be found on brightly lit reef slopes, just as bubble-tip anemones are found>> Would this algae be something good to keep in large numbers in the display?   http://liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=664 <<Could be, yes...depending on your sense of aesthetics.  EricR>>

Lighting For Anemones  - 2/21/2006 I want to keep a Bubble Tip anemone down the road, but would like to invest in the lighting now.  I was looking at getting a power compact system with 4 55 watt bulbs (2 10 k ultra daylight and 2 ultra actinic blue) for a total of 220 watts of light. The Bulbs would be mounted probably no more then an inch or so above the water level.  I have a 55 gallon aquarium.  Do you think that this would be a sufficient amount of lighting for the Bubble Tip anemone or should I invest my money in something else? Thanks, Ryan Madison/Milwaukee, WI <Well, Ryan, although I'm a big fan of power compact lighting, I think that for better long-term success with anemones, you'd be better served by investing in metal halide lighting. Sure, you could keep many corals under low-mounted PC's; and in fact, I've seen people successfully keep anemones under PC's, I'd still recommend halides (preferably the double-ended variety) for more flexibility. Conventional reef-keeping wisdom suggests that you could compensate for less intense lighting with more feeding, I'd be inclined to stick with the halides for the intensity and "bang-for-the-buck" that they provide. Hope this helps! Regards, Scott F.>

Bubble tip anemone what? System - 1/30/2006 I have a 75 gallon tank with 2 150 watt 10,000K metal halides and 2 130 watt actinics with the actinics running 11hrs per day and the halides on for 9. Current Outer Orbit. The bubble tip looks excellent at night when the lights are turned off and the moon lights are on, but as soon as the lights come on he shrivels up as though it's night? I purchased him a week ago and he took shrimp at night 4 days in. He seems to be exactly backwards with his behavior. Also he will not attach to anything and seems happy enough on his side. His color remains excellent and his inflation-deflation is fine, just backwards. Tank parameters are 0 across the board. PH is 8.3. He seems happiest at the least current movement spot in the tank, otherwise he just drifts with the current and ends up wherever till I pick him back up and put him someplace stable for him. Not a joke.  <I'm guessing the shop where you bought the anemone doesn't use halide lighting over the tank so the anemone probably went into photo shock.  I'd shut the lamp off that is nearest the anemone (wherever he is) and leave the other halide on.  Reduce the time of the other halide to three hours, gradually increasing by about 30 minutes per day until you reach your photoperiod of 9 hours.  If the anemone gets anchored, looks good etc, then do the same with the other halide.  The drifting isn't unusual, once it finds a place it likes, will likely anchor itself.  Do search the Wet Web, keyword anemones and further educate yourself on keeping anemones.  James (Salty Dog)> any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks <You're welcome> Randy

Hyposalinity in a tank with a BTA   1/27/06 Hello Crew! <Garen> I have small cowfish and blue throat trigger with a severe case of ich.  I wanted to try hyposalinity treatment on the display tank because I don't have a hospital tank that could hold the trigger and cow (only 10 gallons).  The problem lies in that there is a maroon clown with his BTA in the tank.  I would like to know what the lowest salinity that the BTA could tolerate and for what amount of time? <I would not fool with spg here and the anemone> Also, I would like treat with copper on these two fish because I don't want to risk losing them due to the advanced stages of ich and the minimal success rate of hypo treat. <Good> I think that the blue throat can tolerate normal amounts of the copper (please tell me if there is anything special about treating the trigger vs. other "hardy" fish) and that the longhorn cowfish can only tolerate very small amounts copper.  So it appears that I would have to buy another 10 gal treatment tank and treat them with different levels of copper in separate treatment tanks.  I have looked at the Boxfish FAQs and Boxfish Disease FAQs and have seen that Mr. Fenner has said that small amounts of copper can be used on the cowfish but I can't find how much copper to use in any of the FAQs for the cowfish. <The lower limits of efficacy: 0.15 to 0.20 free cupric ion ppm>   I am desperate here and need the suggested amount of copper for treating a cowfish, along with the appropriate temperature, duration of treatment, and salinity level for his treatment. <Upper 70's F. for most species, two weeks, and 1.018> A little off topic here, but could you guys tell me (or direct me with a link) how to get lionfish/scorpionfish to eat prepared foods.  I can't get my Cheekspot scorpionfish, diabolus, and antennata lionfish to eat prepared foods but strangely my fuzzy dwarf lion will only eat pellets.  Strange situation, one extreme to the other within the Scorpaenidae family.  I'm confused, you? <All the ding dang time. The feeding is a matter of "practice" with meaty food items, a "stick" to attach same to and dangle in front of the fish. Bob Fenner> Thanx again, Garen Wright

BTA Treatment Hi, <Hello Fawn> I have searched your site for information on how to treat an anemone that has been damaged.  I noticed my water was really murky this morning and in searching for the reason, found my BTA had been partially sucked into the power head.  I have a sponge filter that fits over the intake to avoid problems like this.  However, is somehow got pulled off. The BTA has a rip from it's mouth out through the side.  The foot appears intact.  This is a beautiful anemone that I have had for quite a while. Please advise me regarding what I can and should do. I have done a partial water change and removed the pieces of the anemone that I can find.  Any help you can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. <Fawn, for the best interest of the rest of the tank inhabitants, do give the anemone it's last water change (down the toilet).  There is nothing you can do to reverse the damage.  In leaving the anemone in the tank it will soon die and foul the whole system and more than likely wipe out the remaining inhabitants.  James (Salty Dog)> Regards, Fawn Curtis

Re: BTA  - 01/09/2006 Thanks for the quick reply. <You're welcome> Lights are on about 10 hours per day and I am dosing a product called Purple UP every week.  And yes I am very consistent on my water changes. <Great. One other thing I overlooked is that your 29 is not a good tank for anemones.  Water parameters can change too fast in smaller systems.  Much better off with a minimum of 55 gallons and have a more stable environment as anemones are sensitive to changes in water parameters.  I know you are setting up a 55 as we speak (based on original email) so the sooner the better but no guarantee your ailing anemone will survive.  Do search the Wet Web Media, keyword "anemones" and learn more about these animals.  James (Salty Dog)>

Percula Clowns Good Afternoon (its 14:45 in the UK) I have had a pair of percula clowns  as the only fish in a 30G tank for a little over two years. I upgraded my lighting just recently in an attempt to house a BTA anemone I now have 4 X 55 Watt T5 (PC's) I got the anemone Saturday and at first the clown pay little attention to the anemone now the male swims around and around it just skimming the tentacles with his tail?? Is he acclimatizing to the anemone and is it likely he will start to host soon? <The clown should host soon unless they are tank raised.> Is there any thing you would recommend to encourage this symbiosis? <Nature will take its course.  Nothing you can do to speed it up.> It would be really great if he did, but I love all the animals in the tank and its not the end of the world if they don't.  <I hear you.  James (Salty Dog)> Cheers Guys (and Girls)

Re: Percula Clowns  12/20/2005 Thanks James, while on the subject is my lighting setup ok for the BTA. <Your lighting is just fine.> He is rather large about 8" across and is feeding well I fed him a large piece of squid yesterday, I am thinking of a water change today is it too soon will it unsettle him? <You could do a 10% with no problems.> Thanks Again <You're welcome.  James (Salty Dog)> Dan

BTA color 12-14-05 Your guys' website has been a huge part in how well my aquarium has done over the past year.  Thank you guys so much.   <Always glad to help.> I recently purchased a green BTA which is doing great under 130 watts of light.  I have been trying to find out if there is anything I can do to brighten up his color a little more than it is.  He is mostly a dull green/brown with very green tips.  He looks spectacular under actinic and moonlights, but looks a little on the bland side under daylight.   <You will often see a washing out of color with full spectrum lighting.> If there are any suggestions they would greatly appreciated.  I'm considering upgrading to the Coralife 280 watt halide AquaLight, if you think more light would help his color.   <It is not the quantity of light that produces color, but the quality. You will want to look into changing your lighting spectrum to more of a 20K or actinic style.> Have seen this stuff called Black Powder by Marc Weiss' supplements.  I don't know if you've heard anything or seen results from it.  It says it can greatly increase color and growth, but many forums I've seen say his supplements are mostly sugar and don't do much over a longer period of time. <From my experience with that product I would have to agree that it is not worth the time or money.  You would be better served to use that money toward more water changes, frequent carbon changes, and switching your light spectrum to the more blue that you are wanting. Travis> Thanks again for all of your help.

Bubble Tip Anemone and Water problems 12/8/05 Hi. I am having a few problems with my tank, one dealing with my Anemone and one dealing with using marine builder to improve my water quality. Bubble Tip Anemone: About a month and a half ago I bought a very young BTA that had recently split from the pet store owner's Anemone. Within fifteen minutes of being placed in it's new home, it had found a crevice and happily found itself a new spot. Once a week I fed it a small chunk of frozen shrimp, which it accepted with no problem. It grew to about 3 inches, and looked very healthy until recently.  It started by shrinking a bit on one side and retracting all of it's tentacles on that side, which made them look like very small nubs. The opposite side still had it's tentacles out and inflated. A few days later, the position of the knobby tentacles switched to the other side. I went to my local fish store and they assured me that the Anemone was splitting, but now I'm not so sure.  The Anemone has now shrunk dramatically and it's tentacles are not present at all. There are a few nubs around the mouth and they are actually a purple color now. During the day the Anemone is closed up fairly tight, and at night it opens but it looks as if it is pinched horizontally right below the mouth, causing the base to bow out a bit. It has looked like this for almost two weeks now, should I be worried or is it really just taking a long time to split? <It is possible that it is splitting, but it could also be responding to some kind of stress. If you have not changed the lighting or current recently, I would suspect water quality. A couple of decent size water changes (25% or so) never hurts, and may help.> Marine Builder: My kH and is only 6, and the pH stays at a constant 8.0. I am trying to get my pulsing xenias to pulse again, so I need to bring my pH to a steady 8.3. After doing some research on your site, I think the problem lies in my top off water. I did not know that the RO/DI water needed to be prepared in a certain way before using (buffered, etc.) I'm having to add about half a gallon every two to three days, and have been doing this for about seven to eight months. <Adding buffers to top-off water can be helpful, but is not necessary. In my experience, alkalinity is more important than pH when it comes to xenia pulsing. I would suggest using double (or up to four times) doses of a good quality buffer daily until you get your dKh in the 10 range. You don't mention what your calcium level is, but beware that aggressively raising the alkalinity will cause the calcium to fall, so monitor both closely. If your calcium is low to begin with, I would use a two-part additive like B-Ionic or C-Balance to raise both Ca and Alk in balance.> I know now that I need to add marine builder and marine buffer to my top off water. My question is, If I use both of these additives in my top off water and continue to use the water as I normally do, will it cause problems in the tank? If so, what can I do to get the kH and pH where it needs to be. <I am not familiar with these specific products, but would not suggest mixing them, as this may cause some of the ingredients to precipitate. No one specific product is necessary and they don't have to be added to top of water. They just have to get into the tank somehow. Adding calcium and alkalinity in a balance fashion is necessary. This can be accomplished with Kalkwasser, two-part additive systems or separate buffers and calcium products.> Sorry if both questions were a bit too wordy. Thank you very much for your help and for your website. It has come in handy for many problems that I have come across as a beginner and I'm sure it will help me in many more ways in the future.  <Glad you have benefited from the site. Hope this helps. Best regards. AdamC.>

BTA (E. quadricolor) Care  11/28/05 Hi I have a 45 gallon Odyssea B series. On this tank everything is built in as for light its about 1 inch off the surface of the water but it is in a plastic case it houses two 65w pc bulbs one actinic blue and one 7500 daylight bulb would this be enough light for a BTA anemone if placed high in the aquarium. <Honestly in my opinion this lighting is not intense enough for an E. quadricolor (BTA) even if it were placed high in the tank. Furthermore there is no guarantee it would stay at the top in the tank as anemones move as they please. You can read up more on their care at WWM re: Bubble Tip Anemone Care.> Thanks --Sbatiste <Welcome, Adam J.> 

BTA (E. quadricolor) Lighting is Fine, Tank Much Too Small! - 10/24/05 I have a 18 gallon nano reef tank that is 10 inches wide, 20 inches deep, 20 inches long. I have a 96 watt Coralife power compact, 50-50. Is that bright enough to keep a BTA? <The lighting is sufficient though there are a few things you need to keep in mind. Anemones need very stable environments and this volume of water will be difficult to keep stable, keep up on regular water changes and be sure to have a protein skimmer. The next thing is other sessile inverts, with an anemone in this size tank you will not be able to have any other sessile inverts because the anemone will eventually sting them. Please do more research re: WWM BTA FAQ's, Adam J.> 

BTA Anemone System  9/26/05 Hi WWM Crew, I was planning on setting up a 20-30 gallon BTA Anemone tank but don't any idea what I need so my question how would you suggest i set this tank up. <Steve, I would suggest you not set up a BTA system in a 20/30 gallon tank.  Tank volume is too small to have a shot at successfully keeping these for any length of time.  That and the fact if one should die unnoticed, the tank will foul overnight killing any other inhabitants you may have with them.  For BTA's, I would go no lower than a 55 gallon.  Check out our anemone info on the Wet Web, plenty there to read.  James (Salty Dog)>

BTA Anenomes systems 9/21/05 <Hi Adam J here tonight> Would a BTA survive in a regular 60-gallon aquarium with 260 watts of PC lighting? <Possibly I would just be sure to keep up on the following: Anemones do appreciate intense lighting and while PC's can provide that you need to change the bulbs every 6 to 9 months.  I would also use low temperature bulbs (6500K to 10000K). Anemones also appreciate good water quality, so I would religiously perform water changes of at least 10% per week.  Weekly target feedings of meaty fare from a marine origin are recommended as well.  For more information see the WWM FAQ's http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm, Adam J>

BTA and Lighting 8/9/05 Hi there, I was wondering what you would recommend lighting wise for a BTA in a 55 gallon tank (18 in deep) because I know how you can't always go by a watt per gallon method. I had tried to find an answer on your web site and found one question that was close to mine.  You had recommended 4x96 watt PC Lighting for the BTA in a 55 gallon tank, but my question was about the Orbit fixture made by Current.  I was wondering if you had any thoughts on this fixture in comparison to other PC's.  I have read places that this fixture gives off much more light when compared to other lighting fixtures.  If this is true I was wondering if you thought I could use the 4x65 watt Orbit fixture or do you still recommend getting the 4x96 watt fixture. Thanks for all of your help. Dan <Of these choices, I would go with the four 96 watters. Bob Fenner>

Troubles with a BTA Purchased For a Clownfish (7/24/05) Hello, <Hi. Steve Allen with you this evening.> I was feeling bad for my clown fish, because at night he would lay on my trach brain, so I went out and bought an anemone. <This is not a good reason to buy an anemone. Clowns do not need anemones or any other "host" to thrive, and there is nothing wrong with it "hosting" on the brain as long as it does no damage.> I ended up buying a bubble tip, because I was concerned about it moving around the tank. <BTAs are a bit easier than other anemones, all of which are difficult to keep.> I put it in the tank and for the first couple of days it was staying put, but now it is starting to move, not much, but enough that it is scaring me a little. <They move when they can't find a spot that is to their liking.> Is there anything you can recommend to keep him put, I was told to feed it, and that would most likely keep it there, is that true? <Not always. All anemones need a lot of light, and will move around trying to find the right amount of light and the right current. They also need exceptional water quality. Read about their needs on WWM. Also, there were good anemone articles in Tropical Fish Hobbyist and Aquarium Fish Magazine within the past year or so--check at your local library.> Also, I was wondering you're opinion on buying corals off the internet. Do you recommend buying from a local store or do you prefer internet ordering?  I'm on the fence, I like to see the item in person, but I also like the selection online.  What do you think? <Personally, I have done both and been satisfied. If you have a good LFS that sells healthy corals and doesn't sell impossible ones like Goniopora, consider supporting them. Reputable online vendors are good sources too. If you go to the Local/Internet Stores section of our Chat Forum, you can gather opinions from people who have shopped varians retailers.> Thank you so much..... <You're welcome. I hope this helps.>

Coloured Bulb Anemone in sump? 7/19/05 Thanks for the answers to my previous questions. Your site is a wonderful resource. I have a 90 gallon reef system with 8" fine aragonite, lots of live rock, and coral, both hard and soft. It is illuminated by 390w VHO. The main pump's rating is 1500 GPH with the current head loss and there are also several power heads on a wave maker for additional movement. Recently I added a 25 gallon refugium which has 5" of aragonite sand, small bits of live rock and macroalgae and is illuminated by 55 watts of 9800k VHO on an opposite daylight schedule. It is fed by about 150 GPH and also has two small moving power heads. The intent of this refugium was nutrient export, pH stabilization, and food production for my Mandarin (there are lots of "bugs" in the main tank and the Mandarin is quite plump but I wanted to make sure there was a constant brood of food without predation). All seems to be working well. My question is about my Coloured Bulb Anemone. <Entacmaea quadricolor likely> I have read much about how these animals should not be mixed with corals and until recently the anemone had been content in one place so there had not been a threat of stinging others. Now that it is roaming, I want to move it and the crab, which it has hosted for 6 months, to either the new refugium or the sump. Part of the sump, which measures about 15" x 12" and is 16" deep (thought the water surface is at the 12" mark), has large pieces of live rock, a serpent star, some snails, a royal purple urchin and a very strange hairy crab with small claws which came with the rock. It has 36 watts of power compact lighting, 18w actinic and 18w 10000k, which has produced a great deal of coralline algae on the rocks and glass and has supported the growth of a small tuft of turtle weed. Where should I move the partnership? <Mmm, best to another system... this sump area lacks sufficient illumination... and the other crab, urchin may be trouble> I would prefer it in the refugium because it is on display. I am especially concerned about the animals lighting needs. <If you do move it, I would add more (double, triple) the amount of "white" light... keep a diligent eye on all life there. Bob Fenner> Thanks so much, Pete      

Anemone Precaution 7.15.05 Hello guys...quick lighting question...and I know you get a lot of them. I have a 90 gal.65 lbs LR (2) 65 watt PC bulbs and 2 actinic 40 watt halogen   bulbs. Is this light adequate for a small bubble anemone? <Hi Paul.  Yes, as long as the oxygen levels are great and the anemone is within 12 inches of the bulb.  Circulation plays a big part in their health as well- So take special care to endure that the water circulates nutrients TO the anemone, not the alternative.  Good luck, Ryan> Thanks Paul

My Poor BTA Hi guys thanks for your help.  So my BTA has been in my tank for about 3 weeks now and been through a bit of a lot.  My girlfriend thought it would be nice to come home with a maroon clown and at first the two were great together then I had to add something to rid the tank of red slime I'm thinking the BTA didn't like this and it shrunk and deflated and the clown didn't like this at all and was batting at the BTA so it continued to shrink.  I removed the clown, did h2o change and even dimmed the lights for the remainder of the day and the BTA came back bigger and stronger than it was before.  The next day it started to move again I thought this was great till the next morning I found my BTA completely sucked into my power head the only thing showing was the foot.  I turned off the power head and slowly and easily removed the BTA from the power head.  The poor thing looked horrible as you can imagine.  To my disbelief when I returned home from work that night it had come back to about 90% and the next day it was perfect again and that night it started moving again and I watched it almost all night ZZZZZZ.  when I woke up it was half in the power head again since I turned the power heads upside-down so it could not be sucked in.  They are also near the top of the tank.  Some how the BTA seems to be doing fine a few days after this.  My question is how do I stop that from happening and is there a better way to move the h2o in my tank? <Hagen makes a "Quick Filter" that adapts to power heads.  It's basically a plastic screen with a foam insert.  It spreads the suction over a wider area, and the foam prevents tentacles from being sucked in.  This is a common problem with anemones.  Many anemones have been lost this way.  James (Salty Dog)> Thanks guys

Rock hanging bubble tip anemone Hey guys, <Yo!> Been reading a hell of a lot of the forums, questions and answers in here , but got one that's got me stumped! My tank has been up and running since last October, (nine months). Running: 300 litre including small sump. Deltec 1250 turbo skimmer Small refugium growing copious amounts of sawtooth Caulerpa, (Acts like a fuge and a scrubber in one, sort of!) (Works well anyway). Ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 2.5 (High fish load.....Yeah I know!!!!) <?> Mg 1300 Ca 450-500 <A bit high...> Heaps of coralline algae. Heaps of really healthy fish, softies and Acropora with some colouring up very well. I'm not using wet/dry system, just lots of base rock and fuge. Total tank turnover around 30 times an hour. Its like a tornado in there! My tank looks great and for its age I feel is doing better than average. (Have had comments). Even found a rock boring Urchin the other week....ROCK ON!! <Or in!> THE PROBLEM: 1 x rock hanging purple bubble tip anemone hanging upside down. usually comes out and wraps itself upwards onto a rock face and basks for the entirety of the photoperiod and so on. For the last 10 or so days he is shrinking into a pathetic little deflated sad mess and he is very difficult to reach as he is under the rock face. EVERYTHING in the tank is extremely healthy and doing great except this one. One day he is a quarter inflated and the next nothing. Have tried feeding him with frozen brine shrimp, which i thought assisted, but only lasted a day. do you think he could be starving? <Maybe> The Tomato doesn't feed him, he is too damn greedy! I usually don't feed my Anemone's but the LTA is in the line of sight for falling food when I do feed the fish, so he generally gets a bit. The other one would not get hardly any. He originally came from another tank which the original one had split. This was the SPLITEE if you like! <Nice term!> Been in my tank for about 4 months. Any advice would be great, I Would like to save him if possible, but not too worried as I have an extremely large LTA that couldn't be any healthier if it tried! Sorry to prattle on......Can supply pics if needed. Kind regards and keep up the good advice! Craig New Zealand <Will endeavour to do so. This anemone might be in an inopportune location... too much circulation, not enough light... not a spot conducive to regular food offering (thrice weekly if it were up to me). Though I/we rarely suggest so, you might move it (and its rock?) to a lower, more calm setting... someplace where you can purposely stick feed it. Bob Fenner>
Re: Rock hanging bubble tip anemone Thanks, I will try to feed the poor thing a bit more with a bent stick! Cheers Craig <Ah, good. We'll see if this change makes a/the difference. Bob Fenner>

Lighting for BTA 4/28/05 Dear Mr. Fenner, I just recently purchased a new 48" compact light 2 x 65w Actinic and 2 x 65w 10,000k. I have a 75 gallon tank 48L x 18W x 20D. I have 60 lbs of live sand and 50 lbs of live rock. I have read most of your articles about Bubble Tips and some answers are close to what I need so I want to be sure. Will the light that I purchased be enough for a Bubble Tip Anemone to survive?  <It is enough for the anemone to survive, but it may not maintain it's bright color. Also, as always, be sure to feed a marble sized piece of meaty seafood about once a week.> I have another 48" fluorescent fixture that I can put on it but it would only add 80 more watts. What would you recommend?  <I would suggest using the additional light as long as heat does not become a problem.> My next question is how long should the lights stay on. Currently I leave the 10,000k with the Actinic on during the day and just the Actinic on at night? Is this correct or should I turn the lights completely on and off for day and night?  <Fish and corals need a period of darkness. A total photoperiod of about 12 hours is usually good. You can use multiple timers to stagger the time that different lights come on and off, but you should have at least 10 hours when all of the lights are off (some background room lights are OK.)> My fianc? and I are really enjoying the tank and all of the creatures that seem to be growing out of the live rock. Anemones would really complete the tank. Your site is the most informational I have found yet.  Thanks for all of your efforts and advice. Grant Citron Lafayette, LA  <Thanks and Best Regards. AdamC.>

BTA Lighting Hi, I have a 170 gal marine tank which is 5ft L by 26inch deep and was wondering is 400watts enough lighting (2x 150 watt halides and 2 x 48watt daylights) for a BTA and most corals? <The lighting set up you describe sounds perfectly adequate to keep a BTA and pretty much any photosynthetic coral. Check out the following link for more information on Bubble Tipped Anemones and their care (including lighting requirements) http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm.  Good luck, Mike G.>

BTA all balled up Good afternoon, <Hi there> Yesterday, I did an extensive search through the bubble tip anemones, only to not find exactly what I was looking for. Hopefully someone out there could shed some light on the subject, or at least put me at ease. Here goes: First the basic info - 37 gallon Fish: (2) ocellaris clowns, (1) 3 stripe (which will be on his way out soon enough), and a lawnmower blenny. Inverts: (1) peppermint shrimp, (1) emerald crab, various red & blue leg hermits, Mexican turbo snails, Astrea, Cerith and Nassarius snails. Corals: a few yellow polyps, brown buttons, white and green striped Palythoa, various colored zoanthids, Ricordea, and mushrooms. Lighting: (3) 65 watt pc lighting (12 hrs on, 12 off) Filtration: (1) AquaClear 50 - sponge cleaned weekly, and carbon replaced every single month without exception. Skimmer: Excalibur hang-on Water movement: (1) Maxijet 1200, and the outputs from the skimmer (powered by a Rio 800) and the AquaClear keep things moving pretty good - I'm looking to add another Maxijet in the near future.   All together, probably 60 lbs live rock, and a shallow sand bed. my BTA has been in the tank for almost a month, and the tank itself went through a cycle that seemed like no other! It has been stable for about the last 6 to 7 months. The tank is fed once a day with a mixture of Nori, raw shrimp, freeze dried brine, and formula 1 flake, (all soaked in Selcon), along with DT's phyto every other day. over the past weekend, I decided to add about another 10 lbs of base rock. <This is a small tank/volume, a bunch of life to be moving about, adding so much in such a short time span...> Of course when adding the rock, other things had to be moved around and re-stacked. I also looked at it as re-arranging things a bit to break up territorial issues between my clowns and my 3-stripe. <This aggression will only get worse in time...> Anyway, after adding the new base rock, and doing some scraping and cleaning, and so forth, I did my weekly water change. I specifically waited to the very end to do the water change. The rock my BTA attached itself to happens to be the back of the rock with all my Palythoa and zoanthids. <Oh oh...> I had to move this rock up a little, and off to the side a little. The new location appears to have similar water movement, but it happens to be exposed more to the light. I specifically did not try to move the anemone itself, as I didn't want to tear it or stress it any further than what I had to. <Good> After the whole cloud of crap finally started to settle / filter out, I cleaned the sponge in the filter to remove excess garbage, and changed my carbon. All water parameters appear to be in good standing: pH - 8.2- 8.3, alk - normal (Red Sea "generalized" test), temp 79? - 80?, specific gravity - 1.025, Ca - 460 (a little high), ammonia - 0, nitrites - 0, nitrates - <10.  I don't test for anything else, and rarely test the amount shown here. usually only sg, pH and alk. Now, the BTA has only opened up maybe halfway, but usually stays tightly balled up (looks like a purplish red onion).  It still has all of its coloration (purple- maroonish colored base, very green tentacles with pink tips). When it is partly open, the mouth looks to be very tight, and I can't see any signs of decomposing. It's not expelling any waste that I can see. I know that they will move wherever they want to go when they want to, but this is the second day, and it appears that it hasn't moved an inch. Hopefully I'm right and everything will be ok within a couple of days. Should I attempt to feed it, or should I wait until it is fully open? <I'd definitely wait> Right now, my intentions are to just leave it alone. Any comments, suggestions, constructive criticisms? Hopefully I'm over-reacting. Sorry for the long winded message, but I wanted to put as much info out there as possible. Thanks. <IMO you are not over-reacting... There is a potential disaster brewing here... with the small volume, so much chemical change going on and trying to keep this anemone in the presence of the zoanthids... Please read re these animals: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm particularly their chemical incompatibility, danger to humans... In this tiny tank you will either have to be super-diligent in making water changes, checks on quality, use of chemical filtrants... perhaps add volume, filtration, other mediating influences through the addition of a refugium... or get rid of the zoanthids... possibly the anemone in time. Small volumes are just inherently too unstable... to house mixed cnidarian populations, particularly some groups. Bob Fenner>

Bubble Tip Anemone - Lighting & Moving Hello, <Hi there> I have a bubble tip anemone in my 55 gallon tank with 260 watts of lighting. I want to transfer the anemone into a fish only tank. The only problem is I am worried about the lighting. The tank is 65 gallons. Do I need 250 watts of light to sustain it in that tank? Or could it survive with about 208 watts of lighting just feeding it more like three times a week or something? <This should work> Please get back to me. Also the anemone has a torn pedal foot but can still grip rock and is growing huge. Anyway please get back to me thanks! You guys are a great help! Saurav <Do move the anemone underwater... that is, don't lift it into the air, but scoop it up in a large-enough container and move it with water over it. Bob Fenner> 

Rose Bulb Anemone Lighting Hi, <How goes it? Maddox here tonight> I have a 44g reef corner tank that is 22" deep. I am thinking about adding a rose bulb anemone, but want to make sure I have enough light for it. My lighting is 230w of power compacts. One double strip is 65w JBJ and the other double strip is 65w Coralife. Both consist of 10,000k day and actinic fluorescents. Will this be sufficient light for rose bulb anemone? <Shouldn't be a problem, but I would keep the anemone in the upper half of the tank> Thanks Again, <Anytime> Roo <M. Maddox> 

Clownfish and Anemone care 2/28/05 Hi, Which Clown has the dark patches on it the Amphiprion ocellaris or the Amphiprion percula? <The "true" percula clownfish, A. percula, generally has a lot more (wider) black color/bands> Also what is the minimal lighting requirements for a healthy BTA? <5 watts per gallon of water at 6500-10k K lamp color over less than 24" of water would be a safe and healthy minimum light scheme for Entacmaea quadricolor. kindly, Anthony>

Rose Bulb Tip Anemone Lighting Help Dear WWM Crew, I hope this email is not a pain and you have the time to answer. I think I?m OK from browsing your FAQs but wanted to make sure I have sufficient lighting as I try to take the health and care of my charges seriously. I currently am running a reef tank that is 15?deep x 17?high x 46?long (I believe it is around 55 gallons, I inherited it from a friend). I had another friend of mine help set up the tank and lighting but he has since gone AWOL.  What I can tell, I have an Aqualight Retrofit kit with one Hamilton PC 96W 03 Actinic and a Hamilton 10000K Ice White (I believe this to be 96W as well). I recently purchased a Rose Bulb Tip Anemone and he has since migrated to the top of my aquarium, planting itself 4? from the surface.  His bulbs are still intact and he seems ok so far BUT is this really sufficient lighting? The guys at my LFS insisted that I had sufficient lighting but after reading up a bit online I?m not so sure anymore. Please advise. Also, I was thinking of getting a Tridacna clam and was leading towards a Squamosa (less light requirements I believe) but would love to have a Crocea, is there enough light for either?  <John, you are borderline for lighting with the anemone and it is not enough light for the clam. James (Salty Dog)>

BTA husbandry, sources of enlightenment Hi guys you have been so helpful in the past and I hate to be a pest. I purchased. A BTA a few weeks ago from my LFS. It was so big and pretty in the tank at the store. When I got it home it stayed that way for a few days and planted its foot on the rock and my 2 Percs took right to it. It stayed in the front of the tank for about 5 days but it pulled it self under the rock. Is this normal? <Not atypical> It's half the size that it was when I got it. The clown fish are still playing in it. I heard that if the anemone was sick they would leave it alone. Is that true? <Happens> I haven't fed it since I've had it because I've never seen its mouth open. <Won't necessarily... don't wait for this> I have some peeled & deveined shrimp brought from the grocery store. Is this what they will eat? Anything else you would recommend feeding? <Yes... read: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/anemonefdgfaqs.htm and the linked files on BTAs> What do you mean when you say to soak the food in tank water before feeding? <Search on WWM re> I was a little worried about buying another anemone but the guy at the store said that the BT were easier to care for than other anemones. <Amongst the hardiest, especially the captive produced> I have tried other with no success. I have a 29 gallon tank that's been up for over a year. <This is a dangerously small volume...> Levels are great, ammonia up a little so I did 15% water change. I have 2 maxi jet 600 power heads, Red Sea Prizm protein skimmer, millennium 3000 hang on filter, and I have an R/O/ DI for water. Lights are Current Fluorescent Compact Dual 50/50 on timer for 10 hours. Is this enough light? <Please read... http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm scroll down to the Actinarians...> Should I have both bulbs on at the same time? They are 65Watts a piece. I have a 55 gallon tank that's in the process of cycling. It has a Eheim Pro II canister filter, 2 1200 maxi jet power heads, 1 Zoomed 228 power head, Aqua C Remora skimmer with Mag drive as your site suggested. My light for this tank is pretty much the same as on the other just a different brand - Coralife compact fluorescent. Will this set up be ok for my anemone? I really want to keep this anemone alive. What do you recommend? Do I need more current? After a few days in the front the anemone moved over the rock and to the back of the tank still hiding under some rock. Is that normal? Please help. Any info would be so great.  Heather <Heather... stop! Read my friend... make up your own mind. Bob Fenner>

Bubble anemone requirements Hi! I would like to get a BTA really soon, but I'd like to know if my tank setup is fine. I have a 30 gal with Prizm protein skimmer, Orbit lights (2x 65 watts PC (1 actinic & 1 white) + 2x 1 watt lunar lights), +/- 26 lbs live rock (will get more in a few days), good water flow (main filter: RENA Filstar Xp1). Water: - Ammonia: 0 - Nitrites: 0 - Nitrates: 15-20 - Calcium: 400-420 - pH: 8.2-8.3 - Temp.: 79F Lighting: actinic: 7am to 7pm -- white: 8am to 6pm water change: +/- 7% every week 1 ocellaris clown, 1 firefish goby, 1 lawnmower blenny, 1 chalk Basslet, 1 green Chromis, 1 brittle star, 1 long spined urchin, 7 hermit and 2 green emerald crabs, 2 shrimps (cleaner & peppermint), snails... 3 pulsing Xenia branches (almost 4), 2 Ricordea mushrooms (still small and not dividing), 1 candycane, more LPS to come... So, do you think that with this setup a BTA will do fine? If not, what do I have to change? I tried to find out information on the specific needs of the BTA but all I got is general information. Thank you very much, and I'm sorry for my bad English. Ivan <Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/index.htm re Anemones, BTA's... Bob Fenner>

Green bubble tipped anemone growth Howdy and seasons greetings to y'all, <Thanks, you too!>      First of all let me thank you for the site. I have learned so much from it. It's always the first place I look when I have a question. <No problem, I'm glad to help out around here.  Loads of info, I read the archives frequently myself> On to my issues. I have a green bubble tipped anemone that was one of the early purchases once my tank was ready to add live stock. <Nice, anemones are awesome> It has been up since The first of July. I have a 75 gallon tank with about 100 #s of live rock and about 140 #s of live sand. I have a separate sump, with a Euroreef C-6 protein skimmer, which holds between 15 and 20 gallons.  The sump flows into a refugium with macro algae, live rock and live sand that is also between 15 and 20 gallons. I have a U.V sterilizer I run about once a month or so about a week at a time. (I mainly got it because of an ick outbreak I had). My lighting is 6 VHO 46.5" bulbs 3 actinic blue and 3 actinic white. They come on and go off in pairs throughout the day about 9 hours total anymore and the algae goes nuts.  <Might want to control those organics better, then - light should not create algae> First 2 blue then a blue and white then the last 2 whites and they go off in the reverse order. (to kind of simulate the day) My water has always been good with the exception of my nitrates which I have been fighting recently it stays around 15 (it has been higher but not by much and not now that I am really watching it) I have added a bag of nitrate sponge rocks to try to help along with sizeable water changes 4 days in a row. I normally do about 10 gallons a week. <Hmm...do you have a DSB?  Skim well?  Might want to up the water change %, chemical absorbers for nitrate are just temporary fixes for a larger problem> Okay now for my question. My anemone does not seem to grow. There are days it seems big and days it is very compact. I understand it is easy to confuse its stretching for growth. Some days it looks great other days just okay. It never looks like the melting ice cream cone and its color has not been bleached. It's still caramel with the green tips. I feed it every other day either Mysis shrimp or plankton after feeding my fish and shrimp because they tend to steal its food if I try to feed it first. I think it's being fed enough from what I have read but I see no significant growth. (arrrgh!) How big should these get and how fast should they grow? When I purchased it I purchased the 2 black and white clowns that were hosting it at the time and once being introduced into the tank, want nothing to do with it. Is this normal? The anemone was in the same spot forever then when I noticed my nitrate issue it was moving around but has now settled down again. I know this may sound confusing but if you can decipher through it any help would be greatly appreciated! <Take out an actinic bulb for another daylight, firstly.  Secondly, how deep in the water is it?  Does it receive decent flow?  Make certain it gets fed a couple of times a week, as well.  If need be, shoo everything away until it's fully ingested the food.  This should get the little guy growing...I fed mine 3 times a week and it doubled in size in a few months.  Remember to feed very small (1\4") bits> Thanks…Butch <Good luck! M. Maddox>

Keeping a bulb anemone with VHO lighting... will it work? Hello, <How goes it, Michael here today...and no tests (in school) for a week!> I have a 75 gallon reef (18" deep), that's approx 3 months old, and doing very well.  <Glad to hear it> Water levels are all in the ideal range <Ideal being pH of ~8.3, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and less than 5 ppm nitrates, I hope>, and the coralline algae growth is phenomenal.  <Excellent.  My tank is fried with light to the point where mine will only grow in the shadows> I have not added any corals yet, but I have some zoanthids and Palythoa that have sprung from my live rock. <Cool> The tank also houses 8 fish (all small reef safe species). I have the ballast capacity and space in my hood to run up to eight 46 ?"  VHO lamps. Right now I have four 36" VHO URI super actinics, and four 46 ?" URI actinic whites. The tubes are 2 inches above the water surface, and 14 inches above the surface of the sandbed. I run the smaller actinics just to keep my color rendering from being too blue.  <The PAR of actinics is virtually next to nothing for anemones> My question stems around my wife's desire to add an anemone and clown fish to this tank. <Really neat relationship to observe> With the ability to run up to 880 watts of VHO lighting, I'm assuming I can keep one of the easier species like a bulb anemone, but I wanted your opinion, as well as a recommendation on whether I should continue running a 50/50 blend of white to actinic, or should I cut down the number of actinics and add more full spectrum to make the anemone (and future SPS additions) happy?  Give me a good ratio. Aesthetics take a back seat to good husbandry, so if I need to be running 100% full spectrum, I'm all for it, so give me your best recommendation.  <If you plan on running eight bulbs, I would keep only two actinic, and run the rest daylight, preferably from the 5.5k-10k range for anemones> Also, is there any real benefit for anemones and SPS to switching the full spectrum lamps to 10K Aquasuns, instead of the 12K actinic whites?  <What most people don't as anything over 10k is going to give you slower growth rates, because the PAR is lower than bulbs from 5.5k-10k range.  The sun puts out 5.5k light, so that is what most animals will do well\best at.  This doesn't mean that other temperatures can't be used, it just means the growth rates won't be as good.  As I stated, I recommend between 5.5k and 10k for anemones.  SPS will do fine all the way to 20k.  If you do try your hand at some SPS, be sure to place them high up in the aquarium.  You may have a lot of wattage, but the water penetration of fluorescents is still rather weak> Thanks you for a great forum, and for the advice, <Anytime, glad to help out here> Robert Moore <M. Maddox>

Rose bulb anemone I have had a rose bulb anemone for about 2 months now in my 15 gallon eclipse. I have taken out the light that was in the hood and replaced it with an 18 inch 96 watt compact fluorescent  lamp. I have the original eclipse pump and an extra one for more current. I keep the light on for 10 hours and feed it once a day with about four frozen krill.  <Might want to increase the photoperiod by an hour or so.  Also, make sure not to feed the anemone large chunks, mince them into pieces about 1\4th inch in size> Over the last two months my anemone has lost its bubble tips and they have become long and I think that it is not as bright in color as it used to. I have tried increasing the amount of food, but it stops taking it after four krill. What can I do to return it back to its health and replenish its bulbs? <Annoyingly enough, this is very common in BTA's, and there seems to be no apparent reason for why they lose their bubbles and sometimes change color.  It doesn't seem to have anything to do with food, or lighting. <<Does have a great deal to do with a lack of circulation/current. RMF>>  My water quality seems to have an impact on my BTA's bubbles (when I do frequent water changes it seems to bubble more) and possibly with water current.  Mine doesn't bubble nearly as much as it used to either, though.  It's  not a sign of an unhealthy animal, so I wouldn't worry too much about it> Sincerely,                 John Sorkness <M. Maddox>

Rose BTA/Nitrate Hi there Mr. Calfo, <cheers, my friend> Harvey & Marilyn here tonight with a question for you.  We met recently at the SCMAS of Orange Co., CA.  Our questions pertains to our beautiful Rose BTA.  We've noticed: 1)  the BTA releasing brown stringy matter which we assume is waste product and is normal.   <yes... likely so, no worries> 2)  when the anemone stretches and the oral disc is lifted up, we noticed a lot of dark brown matter  throughout the column and the underside of the oral disc.  Is this normal?   <it does not sound suspect or unusual... perhaps from regular feedings - all good> We were feeding the anemone on a daily basis little bits of shrimp or squid or Mysis.   <ah, yes... excellent> Since the releasing of waste products and all this brown matter in the column etc., we've cut back on the feeding to 2X a week hoping maybe the anemone can expel the accumulated waste?   <flawed logic, but still OK if you don't want the anemone to grow as well/fast> Is this OK or are we starving the poor thing?   <not starving... although I like to see/recommend at least 3 feedings weekly (small)> 3)  The anemone is about 5 - 6" oval shape, with one side resembling a figure 8 and where the indentation is,  I'd say about  10 - 12 new tentacles have sprouted.  However, we've noticed 2 of the older tentacles have curled up into a ball and one seems to have curled around some food, but upon checking it out, it seems like it might be some mesenterial filaments (white) and not removable.  What is causing the tentacle to shrink and curl?   <the drift from a neighboring coral or anemone upstream from it - a defensive posture> Also, some of the other tentacles seems to have gone crooked at the tips?!    I haven't seen any bulbous tips for a while and the tentacles have lengthened to at least 3 - 4"!   <happens often for reason not clear to us yet. Still not a problem> Please tell us what's going on with our beautiful Rose BTA. Other than what was mentioned above, the BTA seems to be doing OK since it grew from an  original 2" to 5-6" now.  Thank you for your help in figuring out what's going on with our anemone. <sounds like good care and a healthy anemone> Oh, our tank parameters are:  60 gals with 100 lbs. LR, 70 lbs LS, CA 410, dKH 9.6, Alk 3.43, NO2 0, NO3 15 - 20, NH3 0,  SG 1.025.  Have been doing weekly water changes of 15 to 20% to try and knock the NO3 down but it only goes down to 10, never lower  and then back up again - can't seem to figure what's going on here,   <consider a DSB refugium with a minimum of 4" of oolitic sand> We are utilizing a CPR Bak Pak 2R skimmer and getting more foam then before, but can only get l/2 to 3/4 cupful per week.  Again, thank you for your help and advice.  Much appreciated. Harvey & Marilyn <great to hear from you! best of luck, Anthony>

Lighting a BTA 9/30/04 I am thinking about purchasing a Aqualight Pro 24" lighting fixture (1 - 150watt HQI Metal Halide, 2 - 65watt Actinic PC's and 2 - 1watt Moon Lights) for my 29 gallon tank (30" X 12" X 18").  I keep an RTBA in the tank along with several corals.  Will this fixture be ok on this tank or will it be too much light?  Thanks for your input. Jeff <it sounds right on par to me with the oft-tossed about "rule" of 5 watts per gallon (of daylight) for popular zooxanthellate reef invertebrates. The actinics don't count in "the rule" BTW... they are mostly aesthetic - enjoy :) Anthony>

Can I keep a BTA in this setup? I have a 40gal bdr tank (36x18x16) with PC 2x96 light fixture, reef ready CPR BakPak, appx 60 lbs live rock, 20-30lbs live sand.... and the following corals: zoanthids - about 14 sets but mostly small frags with 20 or less polyps colt coral finger leather coral - and 15 of her babies but they are soon to go to the pet store or friends, Turbinaria coral, pagoda cup coral, trumpet/candy cane coral (small frag of about 10 heads), yellow leather toad (about 3 1/2 inches across and growing), pincushion looking toad - about 5 inches across, small pink toad - 2 inches, 2 toad frags about an inch each, large glove polyp rock -growing out of control, small glove polyp rock, about 30+ mushrooms daisy polyps (small frag of about 20), brown button polyps - 4 clumps Large Hair algae rock (for my pods - they love it and it has not spread anywhere else in tank for over a year), large green star polyp rock - appx 12inches across, hammer coral frag (2 heads - small) <Wow! When all of those animals start growing, you are going to have quite a crowded tank!  I would start thinking right now about thinning out!> As you can imagine it is all growing nicely but soon will be on top of each other. <Yup, they will.  There is also the issue of chemical competition (allelopathy) which is likely to become a problem with so many soft corals.> I love the zoos and my toads.. if I run Purigen will they coexist together ALONG with a BTA.  My friends BTA just split again and she wants to give me one but I want to make sure it will be ok in my tank.  <You have hit the primary issue on the head.  No chemical media will sufficiently control all of the allelopathic chemicals produced by corals. That is not to say that you will definitely have problems, but they are likely.  I would not consider adding the anemone unless you significantly reduce the number of corals.  In most cases, I don't recommend that anemones and corals be kept together at all (though most people do so).> Are my lights strong enough?  my tank is about 14" deep after the sand bed and it would go near the top. <Yes, but barely, and only if they are within a few inches of the water.  Regular feeding will help compensate for the lower light.> Are there any corals it will clash with?  I have 1 tomato clown, one citron and a mandarin (that I order copepods for monthly and my tank is swarming with amphipods and Mysid however I think they are to fast for him).  anyway, any info regarding the BTA would be appreciated! I would love to take it but only if it will be ok in my tank.  <The anemone will sting most corals and may suffer from the interaction itself.  Slow moving fish like your citron goby and Mandarin are at significant risk of being eaten by the anemone.  All things considered, I would strongly recommend that you avoid the anemone.  If you really want the anemone, you will have to give up the listed fish and drastically reduce the number of corals.  Best Regards.  AdamC.>

Rose Bubble tip Anemone 3/22/04 Dear Sirs: I have researched your site for the answer to this question but cant find it. I have a 175 gal reef with generally good water parameters. My Calcium is a little low at 320 but my Alk is at 4mg/l. My pH shifts between 8.2 and 7.8 which I know is a little extreme but I have a calc reactor so this is problematic, I'm thinking abut dosing with Kalk at night to remedy this. My nitrates and phosphates are at 0. <Your pH swings could be remedied by better water movement at the surface of the water, opening stand doors and other actions to achieve better CO2 out gassing.  I am assuming that your Alk is in mEq/l not mg/l.> My question regards a rose bubble tip I purchased about a month ago from my local store. In the store it was shrunk up to about 3 inch in diameter and displayed bubble tips on the tentacles. It came attached to a rock because I insisted that they give me the rock also so not to tear the foot in removal. I placed the rock at the base of the reef with plenty of light ( 2 250 watt 10000 k metal halides and 1 400 watt metal halide in the center of the hood with 2 96 watt actinic power compacts in the front of the hood). the anemone has never moved from its placement in the front of the tank and has enlarged to an enormous size at least 10 inches in diameter, the tentacles are very long without any bubble tips, a few are stringy , some of the tentacles are cork screw in shape, one tentacle has divisions with offshoots of tentacles. <Sounds like a happy anemone.  No one knows what causes the anemones to exhibit bubble tips, but it is rare for it to occur more than occasionally in aquaria.  I have had good luck with BTA's staying put, but they will move if they are unhappy.> This anemone is in a area with very low flow of current, I feed it 3 times a week and have recently increased feeding to daily on advice of a local guy who has had great success growing these out and selling them. The anemone readily consumes its food and has a maroon pair living happily in it. <If your goal is to have a very large and/or frequently dividing anemone, feed away!  The anemone will do fine on one feeding a week, it will just grow more slowly.> The tentacles move little because of lack of current and I'm wondering if this is the cause of its limp elongated tentacle appearance ?  The animal seems healthy other than this and I'm afraid to direct more current to it because I don't want it to leave it's location. I've always been told they will move if unhappy.  What are your thoughts on this limp appearance? Do you have any suggestions?  Thank you so much for your help. Sincerely: Paul Clampitt <I would suggest trying to slightly increase the current.  The anemone will appreciate indirect turbulent flow the most.  As long as you avoid any current device blowing directly at the animal, it should stay put.  Best Regards.  Adam>

BTA disaster II 3/28/04 Thanks for the quick reply!  I will hunt down that article and we will definitely try to save these pieces.  I inherited this tank 7 months ago with the Ocellaris pair and a flat/rock anemone from a co-worker (they didn't understand that the rock anemone was not a suitable host for the clownfish).  Between the two of us this tank has been up and running for just over two years, but I did recently (4 months ago) upgrade the lighting to prepare for getting a BTA. I've got 80 watts of power compact light on the tank (Custom SeaLife fixture - 40W of 10,000K, 40W UltraActinic and moonlight).   <nice color scheme...but only the 40 watt 10k K is doing much for the anemone and as it stands has too much blue in it. May be a moot point here as we are not trying to get optimal growth of the BTA in such a small tank. It will outgrow the aquarium sooner rather than later as it is> I also have two sources of water movement - the Skilter that is used solely for carbon filtration and an Aquarium System's hang-on-the-tank protein skimmer that we run continually for movement and turn air flow on for skimming once a week, 24 hours at a time.   <do run the skimmer full time please (for water quality and so as not to cause stressful fluctuations from the on/off aeration that affects dissolved oxygen levels. Also, observe if you are getting accumulated detritus in areas that indicates a need for better water flow> I don't use any supplements on this small tank, we've found a weekly 20% water change is all that is needed for maintaining good water quality.   <agreed... and feeding several times weekly in small amounts> I could put the frags in my main 72 gallon tank, but I'm paranoid about putting anything into that tank that could move around and sting my corals, <agreed> and our quarantine doesn't have strong enough lighting, so I'll try my best with them in the nano.  Thanks again for you help. Cindy <kindly, Anthony>  

Rose Anemone Questions hello <Hi! Ryan with you today> Thanks again for the help. I have a quick couple questions regarding a rose anemone. I have a 70g tall tank (36x18x24) that is doing pretty well. Considering my corals and fish are seemingly happy. I have a Goniopora flowerpot coral that has recently been hosted by my true percula clownfish (this was extremely exciting to see btw) through my observation however this has been someone unfavorable to the coral. The polyps close when she goes in there and does her thing (interesting to watch!). So I decided to get a rose anemone from a LFS. I've read and been told these are the hardier of anemones. <Can be, in the right conditions.> Once it was in the tank after acclimation (I know I know I should have Qt'd but I felt that it was ok to put it in right away). <Good luck with that> Either way once it was in the tank a couple things happened. First it threw up its food and moved to dif location slightly lower than where I initially put it. <Not a great sign> It has seemed to settle in an ideal location for an anemone. I have a rocked that has a Cup shaped ledge in it with a deep crevice which it seems to be liking. Although now I think it doesn't have enough light. I have 4 3ft VHO bulbs above my tank. The high of the lights above the anemone is about 12"-14". I've read that BTAs don't need tons of light but I think it's a little low lit. <yes, should be in the highest part of your tank unless you're using metal halide lighting.> It has eaten some formula one and krill/Mysid prep. It looks healthy but I think it might not do too well. So would adding a 250w MH bulb help out? <yes> I'm assuming yes, this would probably also help out my corals and soon to come corals. <Surely> I've also read Bobs home made food recipe consisting for primarily shrimp. I was thinking of making that and freezing it then I could use a cheese grader and grade food for the anemone. <Perfect> I think it was Anthony suggested feeding anemones shreds of food as oppose to chunks. <Easier to digest, less likely that a fish/shrimp will have the chance to grab it.> Is that true? <Yes, I believe so> Either way the cheese grated food would work pretty well regardless. One of my other concerns is that the clown will not take to my anemone and continue on the flowerpot. <It will take time> So I've since moved the Flowerpot almost directly above the anemone (its far enough away to where they don't touch at all). <Sedentary animals don't like to be moved.> The clown looks somewhat confused. She sits on the other side of the tank still. I hope she sees the anemone and takes to it. <Possible, but it will take time> I've read Bob's book and it's helped my tremendously. I want to read Mike Paletta's book also. Thanks for all the help!!! Chris <No problem! Good luck, Ryan>

-Appropriate set-up for a BTA- Hi, and thank you for your prompt response. My tank dimensions are as follows, 48 X 18 X 24 (90 gallons). I have a sea clone protein skimmer (100 gal rating) <Says the Aquarium Systems marketing department, 20g says Kevin>, penguin 440 power head <Make sure the intake is adequately covered to defer any possible anemone puree to come.>, two 400 emperor power filters ,300 watt heater, 48''-40 watt full spectrum bulb and a 48''- 40 watt actinic bulb in my canopy. <This is unfortunately far from the ideal (or even minimal) appropriate anemone set-up. Until you can provide adequate housing for such critters, I would suggest bringing these guys back where you got them and chewing the clerk out who sold these to you, they should know better than this.> The tank is a year old. PS :If I was to add live rock to my aquarium, would I have to remove all the base rock and just go with live? How much live rock would be required for 90 gallon aquarium? <Here's my suggestions for converting this tank to one appropriate for anemone husbandry. The first step is to upgrade your protein skimmer to one truly adequate for your purposes (Suggestions: AquaC EV-120, Precision Marine Bullet 1, Euroreef, etc. Please do some research on the various brands of skimmers on the market, and also do a little research on the sea-clone, you'll be surprised what you find out.). The second step would be to make sure that you're using water from a known good source, preferably through a reverse osmosis and/or deionization filter. I would then establish a live sandbed if one has not been established and add some cured live rock (50lbs or so to get going, you may find that you don't want more than this, or you may add as much as you want). Once the tank has been cooking for a while w/ the LR and LS, you can take care of the lighting. This is just a quick rundown, so do yourself a favor and search through our copious stacks of articles and FAQ's on keeping anemones and reef aquariums before you make your first purchase, livestock or otherwise. Remember, if you do not remove these anemones to a proper home, they will slowly starve to death, which is going on right now. I hope this helps! -Kevin> Regards, Brent J 

- Using Iodine/dide and Rose Bubble Lighting - Greetings from Tampa, <Greetings from Boca Raton.> I work at an LFS and have some experience with freshwater and FOWLR systems, with little to none in corals ( not that I pretend to have any when anyone asks)(it has definitely given me the right starting point on basic questions of inquiry in troubleshooting), but let me say that with WWM I at least have somewhere to go to do some homework and at least have something to say about things I'm unfamiliar with. <Good to hear.> Quite simply, I am in an eternal state of gratefulness towards this site and all its contents and would have felt a lot less confident/ informed otherwise. So here's a big thank you, now on to the varied questions :) - I've heard some differing opinions on the use of iodine/iodide dosing in tanks, this also happens in the WetWebFotos forums as well where some people swear by its use and others do just fine by saying water changes are enough and using those added into their salt, I also find little information in The Conscientious Marine Aquarist book which keep at the store where only 1-2 sentences are dedicated to it. at the same time I've seen some email responses advocating its use on a daily basis where other staff members would consider it much less important. Anyway, its hard to find literature on this, could you recommend a website or another reading material that is comprehensive on the subject? <None that I can think of, although I'd add Eric Borneman's Aquarium Corals to your reading list - some good information there.> At most I'd like to give an informed response to customers to the best of my abilities. at most I understand the basics, utilized by some corals, depreciates quickly, useful for molting of inverts. dosing is needed based on its consumption and is somewhat replenished via the salt, but there's are all somewhat laymen and I kind of desire a little more in-depth coverage of it, any help would be useful. <I'm afraid I don't have a link for you.> also, concerning BTAs, primarily a rose anemone, in your exp have you found any clown that doesn't take to these? <Most perculas and ocellaris won't but there's always exceptions to the rule.> because so far I've found that Clarkiis, maroons, and Sebaes (sp), have all taken to this anemone. and after searching through the FAQs and articles I have yet to find a general specification towards their lighting (I'm assuming VHOs/ halides would be sufficient but would one placed within around 1watt/gal fluorescents be sufficient in any case? <No... they need more intense lighting.> I know these are rather basic but the best way for me to learn is by asking the dummy questions first, at least you can somewhat offset lack of experience in some cases with a plethora of information. thanks for your help (WetWeb + FAQs and everything) I'll be bugging you soon I'm certain Jared <Cheers, J -- >

BTA lighting Saw a nice bubble tip anemone (Entacmaea Quadricolor -spelling?) at my LFS today, thinking about purchasing it for my reef tank.  One of the things I honestly have never kept is an anemone.  I have a fixture containing 2x 96 watt PCs (1 10k 1 actinic) and another fixture with 2 18 watt PCs (1 6.5k and 1 actinic) in a 40 gallon tank 18" deep. (Massive space constraints at my house :\ )  Would I need to get a metal halide to provide necessary lighting at that depth (was considering this anyway) or should I add another 36 watt PC fixture (which I have spare)? Thanks for any info.  M. Maddox <I don't believe any extra lights are needed here my friend... especially if you take the time to feed the anemone small amounts regularly (say 3-5 times weekly). Do know, though... that those actinics really do little for most coral/anemone growth and should not "count" in any numbers you might be using like a watts per gallon rule. Don't get me wrong, I love them too... and keep them for aesthetics. But they are not the "best" light for supporting zooxanthellate activity. Just a perk/tweak. Anthony>

Rose Bubble Tip Anemone 7/18/04 Hi, just found this site and I can't believe ALL the practical info one can get just by sitting & reading.  This is very addictive (really, very helpful) for a newbie like me.   <very good to hear my friend> I've inherited a 60 gal. reef tank with several small frags.  It's been up and running now for 9 months.  My tank reads:  SG l.025, pH  8.2, N02 0, NO3 20, NH3 0. Calcium at 430, Alk. 3.2, dKH 9. I've got approx. 90 - l00 lbs. LR, 2" LS and running this with 2 Bak-Pak 2R protein skimmer. <do be sure to stir this sand weekly or have exceptional water flow. Intermediate sand bed depths (1-3" can very difficult to keep in time (not deep enough to be denitrifying and yet too deep to be fully aerobic)>   The tank is also hooked up to an EHEIM 2215 canister filter with bio  filtration. Lighting:  1 175W MH, l4,000K (retrofit) centered, 2 - 96W 03.  Water temp. between 77 to 79. <all good> I would appreciate your help/advice on a few question:     First:  In the last 6 weeks, I purchased a beautiful Rose Bubble Tip Anemone. <if this is a reef tank, please do reconsider keeping this or any anemone in residence. They are a long term risk/recipe for disaster... usually waiting until you go on vacation to die or move about the tank... stinging corals before they proceed to a pump or overflow and clog the port... effectively killing the whole tank in a day or so. This is a common scenario. Moreover, anemones and corals are generally unnatural tankmates and a poor mix together> My BTA  seems to want to eat every day!   <if the pieces are small - minced very fine - then Ok. Else it is regurgitating them at night and still getting little nutrition (hence the hunger <G>)> I'm feeding it Mysis, squid, and shrimp.  The other day I notice for the first time, brown/orange filaments being released from its mouth and then later it shriveled up into its hole and was all stringy.   <yikes!> When the blue 03 light came on, it started to wave slightly.  l hour later the MH lights turned on and the anemone slowly started to revive and inflate and look somewhat full.  Is this normal or is my anemone in trouble? <these were mesenterial filaments from stress (aggression from a neighboring coral or just aggressive corals in the same tank polluting water quality because they sense each other)... or more likely, you gave it a chunk of food that was too large. This can cause damage. Finely minced foods only please> Second:  My nitrates were 10 and now 20, the only thing I can think of making the nitrates go up is possibly a dead cleaner shrimp which I can't find.   <or the regurgitated food every night from the anemone> I've done  2  20% water changes and the nitrates is still at 20.  The LFS suggested I use ALGONE to absorb the nitrates and phosphates.  What do you think of this?   <I would not use or recommend it. Such products are treating the symptom and not the real problem: excess nutrients from lack of water flow, overfeeding and/or poor protein skimmer performance (less than 3-5 cups of dark skimmate weekly)> Third:  Since the canister filter came with the tank, I'm wondering, if I only have a reef tank, and the two reef protein skimmers, can I do something to the canister to eliminate the bio part and just have the sponges in there to filter? <yes... especially if you have enough live rock in the he tank: 1-2 lbs per gallon> Thank you for your help and I really enjoy reading thru the daily info and links. Nemo <best regards, Anthony>

How much light does my rose anemone need? Hi Gang: << Blundell here this afternoon. >> I set up an anemone tank (60 gals) and added it to my reef system (common sump) six months ago. Using a DSB and lots of live rock with surfaces available at varying depths and 2-96 watt PC's (daylight plus actinic), I figured I was safe. However after 2-3 months of frequent wandering, my rose BTA has settle in to stay (3+ months) in the left rear of the tank, right at the top. . . where it's 5-6" cumulative vertical-plus-horizontal distance from a measly 28 watt PC mounted to run front-to-back near the sidewall of the tank. The thing is, it's staying there. . . and growing nicely (easily doubled in size). . . and the only thing that seems a bit 'off' is that some of the lower tentacles are as long as 2-1/2". << Wondering if there will be a question coming.  If my rose anemone was staying put and growing well, I think I'd just be sitting back and enjoying it. >> Water parameters are good. . . and diet is for the BTA is varied (formula one, Mysis with Selcon, live bloodworms). The anemone keeps itself 'canted' like a satellite dish toward the available light. I feed a bit heavier than I might otherwise. . . and keep the lighting cycle for that portion of the tank long (14-15 hours) to try to make up for the 'meager' light. Should I be worried? [The BTA is a bright fluorescent orange. . . no trace of green or other colors anywhere. . . if that makes any difference.] << I wouldn't be worried at all.  If he is growing, just do what you are doing.  I believe that many anemones (including yours) will simply move if they aren't getting what they need.  So if that is where he wants to be, then I guess let him be. >> Chuck <<  Blundell  >>

Are my BTA plans A-OK? Hello, Thanks for your Site! <Hi Flo, PF with you tonight> Sorry for the lengthy email, but I'm trying to get this right.  I am creating an anemone/clownfish tank because I've always wanted one but wanted to do it successfully.  I wanted to run these ideas past you before starting as I'd like to minimize any potential errors.  I've gotten fairly good advice from my LFS but they are in the business of selling me things, and have occasionally given me wrong advice.   <An all too common occurrence. Some of the translations of LFS I've heard are not appropriate for a family site such as this.> I have a 75 gallon soft coral tank with a couple fish including a Mandarin Dragonette (had a year and he is very healthy and happy- lots of live always available food).  Good water parameters, small weekly water changes help keep this tank healthy.  This is going well, so I'm trying another tank.   <Ok> I've done lots of research on BTA's through your well organized site and on the net, but as it happens cannot find exactly what I am doing and would rather modify my plans now rather than killing anything or trying to save something because I screwed up.  I'm looking at purchasing a BTA from someone locally who has had BTA's split in their tank.  I think I'll have a better chance of keeping it alive by purchasing a tank raised specimen that hasn't endured shipping, and from what I've read most of these shouldn't be taken from the sea.  So I'll be using my 40 gallon with one 175w MH w/a 10,000k bulb, and a regular 30w florescent for a bit of blue actinic light. The individual who has had these split is using MH's on smaller tanks and the anemones look good so I'm trying to replicate the environment.  Should I use one 55w actinic PC with the MH instead of regular florescent or does it matter? <Well, the actinics are more for our enjoyment, but 30w NO isn't that much. If you're looking for the fluorescent look, go with the PC's, or use VHO's. The lighting sounds good.> I have about 50 lbs of already cured good live rock used from another tank in the 40 gallon, but to move the tank a distance added new water.  There is nothing else in the tank except water, the live rock, and 3-4 inches of live sand and a bit of normal growth on the live rock like attached small dusters etc.  I'm thinking about waiting a month and then starting to stock the tank to let it cycle again.  Is this right? <Well, anemones like well aged tanks. I'd say wait six months (the number one commodity in short supply among most aquarists: patience). Provide the tank with a few pinches of food every couple of days so your detritivore population can build up, ramp up the food slowly and your population will grow.> Then I want to add 1-2 3" BTA anemones first and leave them for a month, then provided they are doing well, add two small clownfish.  I think I'm better off adding the BTA and letting it settle before the clownfish. <I would agree, but you might want to wait for the BTA's to get a little bigger before adding the clowns, say another inch of growth. Give them a couple of months (3-4) to settle in.> I'm thinking Percula Clowns as they are small and very attractive fish- it looks like they could be compatible possibly and I'm not sure I want a more difficult anemone.  If they do not take to the anemone that'd be ok- but I hope they like it.  Do you have any better recommendation for clownfish? <I like both true and false percs. As for getting them to host, I photoshopped a picture of a false perc and a Caribbean Rock anemone together and taped it to the outside of my tank. It took a week for them to get the idea. Be aware, they can and will change hosts. Mine moved from the anemone, to a powerhead (they don't call them clowns for nothing), and now my hammer coral. Go figure...> And is that timeframe fine? <See above> I'm looking at 1.025 Specific Gravity and a 78-80 Degree Temperature.  Is that good? <Yes, also, don't forget to feed your BTAs. Chopped seafood, preferably whole. Some prefer fish, others shrimp or squid. Guts and all.> After all the BTA and clowns, I'd like to add a couple maxima clams.  From what I've read on the site, that should be OK.  If anything out grows the tank (if all is happy it should) I'll upgrade to a larger tank. <I'm not completely up on clams, but I'm guessing they would be ok, you might want to ask around for a second opinion though.> I have a skimmer that is rated for up to 250 gallons and sump that is running on this tank.  And two maxi-jet powerheads to provide water motion. <Sounds good, remember, the anemones will move if they don't like where they are.> Sound ok?  Anything else I should do or add or change to give the prospective tank inhabitants ?   <A clean up crew, and maybe some cleaner shrimp, and peppermints. Just a few suggestions.> Thanks, Flo <You're welcome, have a good evening, PF>

BTA Help 8/4/03 Hello, I have read most that I could find on your site about the Bubble Tips.  Thanks for such an informative site.  I still have a questions though,  I have a 75 gallon tank with about 55 lbs of live rock, I used all live sand, and the inhabitants include:  4 blue green Chromis, 1 orchid Dottyback,  1 Banggai cardinalfish, 1 flame angelfish, 1 maroon Anemonefish,  1 brown barred goby, 1 yellow tang, 4 turbo snails, 4 red legged hermits, 3 blue legged hermits, and the bubble tip anemone.  I do a five gallon water change a week, religiously. <excellent to see weekly water changes... but the portion is way too small. Larger would be much better for long-term success IMO. 10 gallons minimum (10-20% weekly)> The PH is 8.0, <Yikes! If this is a daytime reading... its getting much lower at night. Rather dangerous at any rate. Do raise this to a night/day range of 8.3-8.6> nitrite 0, nitrate 0, ammonia 0.   <you will need to let a few ppm of nitrate linger for symbiotic cnidarians like coral and anemones for their zooxanthellae> My anemone was fine for the first month or so but recently deflated and crawled into a crevice.   <it may be wanting to split/reproduce. They do this and look dreadful for some days/weeks before splitting> The maroon was having a difficult time getting into him so I moved him out (basically just flipped over the rock he was attached to ) and now he is doing something I haven't been able to find in any of my research.  He looks like he is turning himself inside out.  He is totally deflated on one side and only very slightly inflated on the other.   <still perhaps fission... although it may also be morbidity> He has what looks like small white squiggles in long strings hanging out of  his mouth area.   <mesenterial filaments... defensive> I'm afraid to feed him while he is like this.   <agreed> He has been like this for most of a day now.  Any help would be appreciated.  thanks, Eric Hummel <tough to say with certainty. No worries about feeding for a while. Focus on water quality and observation... do share a pic if you can. Kind regards, Anthony>

Problem Solving! Dear Scott, <Hello again!> Thanks for responding. I promise this will be shorter than last message! <Hey- that's why I signed on for this gig! LOL> On the BTA-He has stayed in the same locale and will hopefully move on "foot" from now on. Since he has had that encounter with the strainer, I am concerned about how pale he is (the green is still good and there is a hint of brown). <As long as it appears to be recovering, that's a good thing!> Please talk to me about feeding. I have heard 1/week, 2/week/, 5/week, etc. and about completely different foods. I am confused. <Well, there are tons of different thoughts on this subject. My research seems to indicate that these animals feed daily in the wild, so I can't imagine it being detrimental (except if inadequate nutrient export mechanisms exist in your tank) to feed it daily, or every other day...I'd try a variety of frozen fish foods, and carefully observe which ones the animal "recognizes" as food sources. An anemone will usually "reject" what it does not recognize as a food, so go with what works!> Also, should the feeding be different after the strainer incident? <I would continue a routine feeding regimen. Just observe the animal a bit more closely> A small amount of Brine Shrimp Plus has drifted to him two days in a row and he has pulled it in. I know it doesn't mean he is eating it, but he acts hungry...please advise. <If it appears to be consuming this food, keep using it!> What is the best we can do for him with VHO lighting? We have painted the interior of the cover a glossy white to help reflect the light. <That's fine. If the animal appears to be reacting negatively to the lighting, you may have to augment as required...Again, observation is the key..> The six-foot (white) tubes only say - Aquasun/7 VHO-1. I have no clue what wattage... <Hmm...something the "expert" might be able to tell you. You need to know, especially when it's time to replace them...By the way- how old are the bulbs? Are they ready to be replaced?> I have removed nine molly millers, but not the tomato clown with ich. She was afraid of the net, so I am feeding her from it (that's how I got so many MM - smiling). I may be able to get her out tonight without much fuss (she has been half-way in the net). <Keep trying. It's important to get everyone out for the treatment> My question is, how do I set up a QT? I have a 10 gal tank, no cover, no lights, no heater and no pump, no nothing. I do have a bubbler and a long narrow heating pad. <Well, you almost have everything that you need. Here is an article by yours truly about setting up a QT...Hopefully, it will answer some of your questions, and the same idea works for a "hospital" tank: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/QuarMarFishes.htm   > Am I nuts to think it wouldn't be wise just to dip and then put her back in with the others? My husband's aquarium pal gave four options: flush her (he had to be kidding), do a dip and put her back, put her in a dif. aquarium, or let the ich run its course.  Let the ich run its course, I'm not nuts. He's nuts! <Well, I'm inclined to agree! "Running its course" means that the life cycle of the causative parasites will go on and on- constantly re-attaching to fishes after dropping off...Until the fish dies. You need to address the life cycle of the parasite - knock it off on the fish with medication, and let the display tank run fallow, without fishes, for a bout a month - this will deprive them of hosts...Lots more bout this on the WWM site..> What about the other fish? My husband is on duty again (Hospital chaplain) and I just feel the other shoe is about to drop. I have ordered a total of four books, but need to correct these current problems before I get them. Help, I am drowning in a sea of misinformation! Crystal <Well, hang in there, Crystal! I'd start with a search under "parasitic diseases" on the WWM site, and you'll find plenty of GOOD information!> P.S. We have an RO/ DI water purifying system (not just RO) whatever that means. <"DI" means "deionization"- another phase of the water purification process...A good thing! Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

-Macrodactyla doreensis and Entacmaea quadricolor- Macrodactyla doreensis and Entacmaea quadricolor have interested me for a long time.. I have finally decided to give it a try.. the tank has cycled.. its a 60 gallon tank.. the dimensions are (LxWxH) 48"x15"x14.5".. lighting is what came with the system about 120 watts.. 2 4' Coralife 40w 50/50 and 1 4' 40w marine Glo.. I also have 30 lbs of live rock in the tank.. my question is what is this amount of light enough to keep these particular anemone's?? <I would suggest at least 4x55w PC's as a minimum for either, and of the two E. quad. is a much hardier specimen (they can also easily be acquired tank raised.>and if not, are there any other anemone's that would work in this amount of light??? <Not any Pacific anemone I can think of> and if not.. are there any corals that I could keep with this amount of light?? <'Shrooms and polyps may do alright, but I'd strongly suggest upgrading to my earlier suggestion. Good luck! -Kevin> thank u very much for answering.. Jiwan

Bubble-tip Anemone Greetings crew, I've seen a lot of great color morphs of Entacmaea quadricolor lately and am considering setting up a dedicated system featuring them.<ok> I have an unoccupied 55 that will have LR and DSB, 20 gal  sump with little Tunze Comline skimmer. 2 150watt HQI pendants w/ XM 20,000K bulbs. Sump return will be about 600 GPH. Would like to place 5 different clones of Bubble-tips. I already have 2 large (4-5"d) greens. Have a source for smaller (2"+) rose and teals. Will they all just get along? or am I in for physical or chemical rumbles? Would also like to put a CB pair of Premnas and some porcelain crabs (Neopetrolisthes sp). I know these will fight for anemones but what if I have more anemones that potential occupants? <this still presents a problem... what happens if they want the same anemone? I would only go with one species> Okay, that's all for now. Please add comments if I am overlooking something. Again, thank you for your help <This link should answer all of your questions http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm> Regards, Bryan

Clownfish and anemones Hello, <Howdy!> a few questions could you please answer I have just got a bubble tip anemone and a pair of maroon clowns one is about 9 cm long and the other is only 2-3 cm long I was wondering will they mate if so then when?<They probably will, I couldn't tell you when as there are many factors that effect this from the fish themselves to their environment.> The bubble tip anemone keeps moving around, is it normal what is wrong, also how can I stop it from moving?<Do you have enough lighting?  If so just let him be and he will find a place that he likes.> Should the anemone be on rocks or is it ok for it to be on sand?<They usually climb up onto your rockwork. Cody>

E. Quad turning brown? Greetings <Anthony Calfo in your service> First off, I must commend you and your staff for doing such a fine job / service to our hobby. It's difficult to be an electrician, plumber, chemist, doctor and mother,  <did you just call me a Mother? <G> Some appreciation... sheesh! :) > but your site has made it much easier. thanks :) <you are very welcome... I think> I have experienced freshwater for the last 15 years and recently plunged into saltwater. I purchased a BTA about three months ago with a pair of false percs. The anemone seemed healthy when I purchased it...... med. in size, green in color with pink tips, brown base, sticky to touch, and attached to a rock. I feed it every two to three days (turkey baster) with a full spectrum cube containing a mixture of minced clams, krill, fish, fish roe, mussels, kelp and zooplankton. Over the last two weeks I have noticed some of the tentacles turning a brownish color. It still has it's bubbles but where the brown is, the bubbles are smaller. I have heard of this occurring but I'm not sure if its good, bad or something that just is.  <two different issues here... color change and waning "bubbles". Waning bubbles are common and unclear to cause. Some theories include lack of dynamic water flow which I subscribe to in part. Another theory is a lack of stimulation from fish guests, which I do not subscribe to. The color change is an entirely different matter. It is most often inadequate light (common) or aging/dirty lamps that reduce otherwise "good" light. Your lighting system below is rather modest for anemones and hard corals. If the lamps are more than 3" off the surface of the water then this color change was inevitable with any amount of fluorescent bulbs (NO or PC). Such bulbs need to be VERY close to the water to be effective at all. Furthermore, if you anemone is more than 8-10" deep in the tank...again, no surprise. UI suspect that some or all of these things are involved. Most anemones die within 6-12 months from slow starvation because they fail to reach their compensation point for survival even with heavy feeding. These are VERY demanding photosynthetic animals requiring hardcore reef lighting as a rule. If not the above, the next likely cause is excess nitrates/nutrients. If your skimmer does not produce dark skimmate every day then the zooxanthellae are being "over-fertilized" and the color change is a masking population of symbiotic algae. Get a better skimmer then :)> It hasn't wandered since I placed it in the tank in a crevice and overall appears normal (still eating, sticky, attached.) Here are my tank stats: 10 gal. 6 months old 15# live rock (Fiji) 1 in, sand bed aqua clear mini - foam insert, sometimes carbon bubble wand across back of tank for aeration and circulation 2 x 13 watt power compacts 50/50 (bulbs 4 months old) 1 15watt NO 18,000k (bulb 2 months old) <beyond the above... your lights may have too much blue to be useful (attractive color though). Most coral and anemone need full daylight illumination. Just add blue or 50/50 for cosmetic effect for the more demanding animals> -if this isn't sufficient, I have a 40 gal long with 4 x 55watt power compacts but I didn't want to stress it until I find out what's going on.  <yes my friend... the 41 watts of light over this anemone are staggeringly weak... but do acclimate the anemone slowly to the new/brighter lights. see here: http://www.WetWebMedia.com/acclimcoralslight.htm> Plus there are some pests in there that I need to remove. Also, I was afraid it would eat my royal Gramma or bat heads with the 2 Florida sea cucumbers (bad, I know. -came as part of a "package" from you know who in Florida.  <ughhh! don't get me started...heehee. Fascists with little respect for life/animals> haven't had a problem yet but you'll be the first to know. hehe -in the meantime keeping fingers crossed, saying prayers, knocking on wood and throwing salt over my shoulder.) salinity 1.025 ph 8.4 ammonia 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 0 calcium 380 temp 80 - 82 weekly water change of 3 gallons. top off with ro/di water -Kalk every other day or so tank friends: the e. quad 2 false percs 3 blue legged hermits 1 Astrea snail 1 silver dollar sized brittle star <all fine> thanks so much for your advice / time. Denise <best regards my friend. Anthony>

E. quadricolor Hello All, Thanks for the good advice in the past! <You are welcome.> I bought a green tipped bubble anemone yesterday and put him in my FOWLR tank (50 gallon). My nitrates tested around 20. Too high? <Closer to zero would be better.> What do I need to watch for in the animal to see if it is affecting him? <Once you see symptoms, it will be too late.> I plan to do water changes to get this level down. <This will help if your new water is free of nitrates (RO or DI water with a good salt mix).> Would a refugium setup be a good idea here to keep it very low in nitrates? <Yes, another part of the equation along with the water changes, other nutrient export processes, proper feeding, and all other aspects of good husbandry.> My lighting is 2 55-watt Custom Sea Life Smartlamps. The tank is only 16" deep and the tallest live rock is 10" from the bottom. Is the lighting adequate? <It does not sound like it. I would ballpark this as about half to three quarters of needed light.> I plan to feed him Formula One and Mysis a few times a week. Let me know if there is anything else I need to know. I have read through the website and some of the FAQ regarding this animal. Thanks again for your services. Michael <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

BTA Hello everyone!   <Hello someone!> Hope all is well with the crew of WWM.  I also hope all of you have a very happy holiday season and a very merry Christmas! <with thanks and hope for you in kind> I purchased another BTA yesterday, but with much more knowledge than I did last time.  :)  It's large, expanding to about 8" across at maximum, and is about an average of 5".  It's got a very deep, rich color, very purplish with a reddish/purple foot/body.  no tears, no abrasions, good "earthy/fishy" smell, long expanded tentacles etc.  Was directly under a 175w MH at the LFS.  They'd only had it a week though.   <hmmm... that part sucks a little... would have been nice to watch it longer> It responds well and quickly to any stimulation, whether it be touching, lighting...  It moves fast too.  After it attached it had moved the equivalent of about 4 feet around my tank in 2 hours.  Here is where the question is...  it concerns circulation.  I have a 20gal long (pretty much anemone only tank... a few corals on the right well separated from the anemones).   <not enough in such a small tank with regard for allelopathy. This will be a problem in 6-12 months and alone will cause frequent moving of the BTA from sensation of competitive cnidarians within inches of it> Anyway, for main circulation I have two Rio 180s in the top back corners, both aimed at the center with diffusers.  I think this is too much current, <I highly doubt it> as the anemone moved away behind the rocks where the current is much weaker.   <as or more likely that the sensation of corals so nearby caused it> Since I obviously don't want the anemone there, where it isn't getting light and is hard to feed, I simply turned the rock around so it is facing the front under good lighting.  I turned down the powerhead flow and it hasn't moved in several hours (we'll see about that tonight when the lights go out).  Question is, is there another way to set up circulation in my tank without a laminar flow?   <converging as you had it to produce random turbulent flow is fine... circulation is not the problem here at any rate. Even in a larger aquarium, it is inappropriate to mix motile anemones with sessile corals. A recipe for disaster in the long run... especially in a small tank> Even with the powerheads aimed at the center of the tank, the flow still seems somewhat laminar and actually quite abusive to the anemones (it blows them around like palm trees in a tornado, that is almost literally what it looks like).   <then aim back left to front right and vice versa instead of converging in the middle> I have tried to assemble two spray bars, but cannot find any pieces of plastic piping of any kind, pvc, acrylic etc. that will fit to make them.   <spray bars are generally a waster of time (too diffusive)> So I am lost as for circulation.  Any advice here would be very much appreciated! <as per above> Oh, as an update, the first anemone I bought is now almost completely bleached.  However, a few of its tentacles have started regaining color.   <reassuring to hear> It doesn't look perfectly healthy, but it isn't dead either...  not yet.  I feed it Sweetwater zooplankton religiously every other day, and it eats it quite voraciously.   <excellent!> I'm going to do my best to keep it alive, but any advice other than what I'm doing?   <small frequent feedings are the key until it colors and can feed itself better> I noticed that clams don't seem to be stung/affected by anemones.  Is this true?   <correct> My LFS has a 12" Rose BTA with half of its tentacles wrapped around a crocea and squamosa, and neither clam cares.  They've been like that for months, and the clams and anemone have both grown a lot.  I wouldn't mind making this a clam/anemone tank and removing the other corals to a 34gal tall I have.   <that is a VERY good idea my friend> Well, once again thank you for the time you spend in answering e-mail!  The "crew" is the most reliable source of frank, honest and expedient answers I have ever encountered.   <thank you kindly> You guys could put together a consulting company :) <Hmmm... but who would pay us for our expertise on Mexican food, flatulent harmonics and silicone implant sonar?> RVM <Happy holidays, Anthony>>

- Tank Raised Anemone Placement - Hello at Wet Web, <Hello, JasonC here...> I have a tank-raised Bubble Tip anemone coming in on Saturday, along with an immature mated pair of Yellow-Striped Maroon Clowns, and I've read that placement for the Bubble Tip is best accomplished by putting it either on or under a piece of live rock with a good crevice in it. <That helps, but doesn't always work.> I know they prefer to attach to rock, so in an effort to place him the best I can when he arrives, I'd appreciate your ideas on doing just that. <I think your stated plan is probably your best shot. Perhaps turn down the flow in the tank, remove a power head or two until it is attached - that way it isn't blown about the tank.> I know he may wander a bit until he's happy--just thought you may have some helpful ideas. Also, knowing how the clowns will protect their anemone, any ideas on feeding the anemone without being attacked by the Maroons? <With a turkey baster or large syringe.> Many thanks, Peggy <Cheers, J -- >

BTA CLOSED UP 2/6/03 I have had this BTA for a couple of months. It is attached to a piece of coral. It exists with a percula in it. Yesterday while performing a 20% water change a small piece of evaporated salt fell into the BTA. Since then it immediately closed up and has stayed this way. I realize it cannot eat like this. <indeed... just irritated> I also understand if it dies it will detach and float. <not correct necessarily. May just sink and stink> Is there anything to do other than wait?? <for the time past now... the damage, if any, is done> It is closed up tight like a fist. Thanks Paul <Paul... please do browse our WetWebMedia.Com archives specifically for the FAQs (many pages here) just on BTAs. I suspect that you would learn a lot and perhaps be surprised about its needs, reproductive tendencies, feeding requirements, and the irritation from that clownfish. Anthony>

A bulb-tipped anemone quest Hi Robert, <Hello> I checked out your site and your as well other articles on bulb-tipped anemones. I am going to be setting up a 10gal aquarium in the next few weeks that will include an Elysia crispata (lettuce sea slug), various xenias, some open brain corals, a sunrise Dottyback, and maybe some other undecided stuff. I live in Miami and am trying to keep a mostly/somewhat native tank. Ok, my question is,,, would a bulb-tipped anemone be safe to keep in my aquarium?  <A bulb-tipped anemone as in the Pacific Entacmaea quadricolor? Not easily kept in such a small volume (though have seen this done). Or maybe you mean the tropical West Atlantic Condylactis gigantea? A much better, more local animal.> What type would be good? What are optimal conditions for such an anemone? Thank so much! <Please go back and read over the anemone sections (including FAQs) on WetWebMedia.com> Morgan Moore <Husbandry, selection issues are covered there. Bob Fenner>

BT anemone Hi Bob! <You actually got Steven pro today.> It's me again. We have had 2 clownfish for about a week now, just bought an anemone today (didn't like the ones they had when we where there last). Several questions for you. How long, if ever, will it take the clowns to take to the anemone, the store said it was a Sebae. I know I read the articles about them. This one is pale green with purple tips. The second question is what and how should I feed it. Have cruised through the site, and can't find any specific information. <Mysis shrimp and/or plankton> That or I'm just blind today. If you could help me out I would greatly appreciate it. also, the site states that the anemone requires bright light, how bright? I have 2 white fluorescent, and 1 blue moon. Tank is 24" deep app. don't have a tape measure handy. Is 75 gallons. Each light is 20 watts. <No where near enough light, a total of 60 watts for a 75. You need to purchase a new light system. Four 110 watt VHO's would be good.> Got confused reading your section on lighting. The lights available here for aquarium use don't have that info on them. Sorry to bug you so much. Will be awaiting your reply. <Try reading this article http://www.WetWebMedia.com/bubbletipanemones.htm It is on bubble tip anemones, but much of the info would be helpful. For future reference, it is much better to find out how to care for an animal before purchasing it. That way your tank and you are properly prepared to care for it.> Thanks Again! Kat <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

Bubble Tip Anemone Dear Robert/Anthony <Steven Pro this morning.> I have just recently put a reserve on a nice Bubble tip anemone in my LFS (purple base with green tinted tentacles). It seems healthy in the shop with a large maroon clownfish currently in residence within it. I am just enquiring (excuse the extremely familiar question) if my lighting is good enough to keep it. My tank is 72 long x 18 wide x24 deep. I have 2 60" marine whites Arcadia) 1 60" actinic blue (arcadia)& 1 42" 50/50. All lights have reflectors and my tank is 10 months old with various soft Sarcophyton species within it. <Seems a bit low in intensity to me in a tank 24" deep.> The coral stock also includes 1 trumpet stony coral two feather dusters, mushroom polyps, green star polyps and a bubble coral. All are thriving and water conditions are optimal. Should I upgrade my lighting? <I would.> In terms of anemone positioning my LFS said to put it where I wanted and let the anemone decide where it wants to reside. <More the later> I have an ideal place for it on the bottom of my tank in the substrate. Please advise. <These anemones generally prefer to be attached to rock vs. sand. Look for Jim Black's article on Bubble-Tip care on WWM.> Many thanks, Jim <You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

Green Bubble Tip Anemone Hi Mr. Fenner, <Steven in this evening.> Hope all is well with you. I was hoping you could give me some advice. I have recently purchased a green bubble tip. My maroon clown went to it instantly and seems to be loving it. This is my first day with it. The anemone hasn't opened up all the way but that's most likely from the stress of shipping right? <Perhaps> It looks nice and healthy from what I can tell and the maroon is absolutely loving it! I have never kept an anemone before. I have VHO lighting and keep the lights on 9 hours a day -- is this enough? <How many lamps and of what wattage? Twelve hours would be best, a full photoperiod.> I have the salinity at 1.022 -- is this OK for the anemone? <Perhaps closer to full salt concentration, 1.024-1.026.> I have placed the anemone where it will get moderate flow. It has attached itself to a rock that has a pretty good crevice in it and seems to be staying there for now at least. It will move if it doesn't like the spot right? <Yes> As far as feeding. . . do you recommend once a week for the anemone? <Several times weekly.> Do you recommend frozen Formula One and fresh shrimp? <Either in small pieces> What other foods would be good? <Plankton and Mysis shrimp> Will the clown feed it as well? <Might actually steal it food> Are there any supplements to the water that will help the anemone? <Regular water changes should be enough.> The only thing I do right now is calcium and PH stuff. At some point I would like to add some live rock. Would the anemone like that? <Beneficial for the whole tank.> Should I move it to the live rock when/if I get some? <No> Is it OK to move the anemone or should I just leave it alone? <Please always leave alone.> Can you give me some hints to let me know signs that the anemone is not doing well. <A gaping mouth and turning into mush are two bad signs.> Are there signs to tell me that he's healthy? <Growth> I've heard that a bubble tip is among the easiest to care for -- do you agree? <Yes> Did I make a good choice? <Don't know.> Are there differences in the greens and the browns? <Probably a difference in the lighting that they were exposed to in the ocean.> I'm sorry for asking so many questions but I've never had one before. I've read a lot on your website but wanted to ask you these specific questions. I thank you so much for your time. Take care. <Please read the article at the following link http://www.WetWebMedia.com/marine/inverts/cnidaria/anthozoa/bubbletipanemones.htm -Steven Pro>

Bubble Tip Anemone with sunglasses - 8/10/03 Hi, <howdy> I have just discovered your website and want to  tell you how great it is. <thanks kindly... do tell friends :) > My system is small (30 g) with a 30g sump and refugium.  It is plumbed and ready for testing and  if all goes well live rock and curing.  Protein skimming and 250 pendant metal halide (10000k) lighting.   <good heavens! That's a lot of light...> My biotope will be Indo-Pacific relatively shallow water species. <fair enough then... truly an exception> My question concerns timing of anemone and clownfish occupation of the tank.  Because of the territorial nature of clownfish and the migratory nature of the BTA, it concerned me if I should inhabit these critters at the beginning or later.  Other critters will be a few SPS, clam,  possible goby, and wrasse. <The tank is too small for any anemone (or other motile cnidarians) with sessile species. It is a recipe for disaster if/when they move in the future (no doubt, while you are on vacation). Anemones are generally unnatural tankmates in reef aquaria at any rate and do best even when in species tanks only. Skip the anemone... save its life (and perhaps a tank full of livestock too) and just enjoy the shallow SPS corals and clams in this tank properly> Thanks for your help in advance Sam <best of luck! Anthony>

Re: Bubble Tip Anemones Dear Anthony, I've tried a number of anemones without success. I have a special affinity for carpet anemones, but one after another, they died.  <indeed... many problems with shipping for these animals before you even have a chance at them>  Oops. I neglected to tell you that for the past couple of years, I only had two 20w fluorescents on my tank. Once I converted to 2 55w PC, it provided the one thing they lacked most: light.  <wow...yes, my friend. Indeed a significant impediment to success with symbiotic cnidarians> I've been feeding my BTA some brine shrimp,  <even enriched brine is a poor food... do consider Mysis shrimp or Pacifica plankton instead> I'll ask for that, as I've never needed it before. I do buy and feed Spirulina Enriched Brine Shrimp, as well as Mysis Shrimp, but the fish tend to consume the latter.  <<agreed that many marine animals respond VERY well to brine shrimp... but it is such a poor food that I will call it literally dangerous for most applications. Animals will feed on it for perhaps a year or more before succumbing "mysteriously" from what is in actuality a dietary deficiency. Indeed... animals will starve in time if brine shrimp is any significant part of their diet>> I also target feed that to the smaller Anemonia majano (the small green ones), as well as my hungry polyps. I could target the anemone with Mysis shrimp in a few days. From a comment in your article, I went ahead and fed him Formula One, which he completely enveloped.... and the Percula didn't intervene too much, mostly because he'd already been fed.  <<very good!>> I was kind of hoping to encourage the possibility of a split.  <be sure to maintain very strong random turbulent water flow... stimulating  for anemones> I have 4 different sources moving water, and the tentacles definitely display some movement. Are you suggesting I simply alter the direction of the powerhead's water flow to change up the pattern some?  <<adjust or upgrade the current so that it could be described as significant random flow. Strong random movement of tentacles>> I have these tiny green anemones that split all the time, so I  figured it would be nice to see a "real" one split.  <Anemonia majano... > Thanks, I was wondering what they were....  <for many animals... HUFA (fatty) rich foods help to condition for spawning.  Do consider soaking your anemone's foods in Selcon (or Super Selco). And add the extra current too if necessary>  I'll write that down for my next visit to the store. I'm sure they'll have that. I recently bought a package of sheets of dried algae, which can be rubbed in the water for the fish to snack on, or clipped to a location where the fish can feed/tear bits off. This alternative for their diet has to be good, right?  <<very fine for herbivorous fishes>> Like my Flame Angel for example?  <<agreed>> Again, I appreciate your reply as well as the fact that I've got someone with the same animal to discuss. Your successful breeding of the anemones, however unintentional, gave me great hope for some long term success. Marc Levenson  <<best regards, Anthony>>

- BTA in a Week Old Tank - The tank is just a week old,  <Eeek! Anemones are very sensitive critters, at the very least you should have waited a month to make sure the tank has properly cycled and that there are no ammonia or nitrite spikes to come.>  ... he anchored himself in for a few days to a good crevice then moved again.  I think he is just checking out the area until he finds a good spot.  I do not want to just grab and move him because it will just make him uneasy and he will move where he wants anyway so I am told. The two clowns and crab are all over him anyway, they are very happy with him and have taken to him now after 4 days. <Please stay on top of your ammonia and nitrite levels, and make sure you have plenty of fully cured live rock in the tank. Since it has been in the tank for only a few days, give it plenty of time to find a spot before moving it around. -Kevin>